Starting Over
by animefan28
Summary: It had been exactly 3 days after Sasuke returned to Konoha from his travels. He was currently half asleep on Naruto's couch, trying to ignore the conversation he was having with a shinobi who was perched outside his window. However, despite his best efforts he was now awake. T rating for now will be upgrading to M eventually. SasuSaku
1. A new mission!

**Authors Note:** I'm not 100% clear yet when Sasuke returns to the village after leaving for his redemption quest, I've heard conflicting reports anywhere from 2-4 years. So I'm going to stick to what we know. And since we know Sasuke has been gone for at least 2 years, this story assumes he returns to the village relatively soon after . So they are all 19 -20 years old. If anyone has information that confirms the timeline please let me know so I can correct it. It's been years since I've submitted or written a story so hopefully its okay. Not sure how many chapters it will have, I do plan to write a lemon. This is SasuSaku.

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I do not own Naruto

It had been exactly 3 days after Sasuke returned to Konoha from his travels. He was currently half asleep on Naruto's couch, trying to ignore the conversation he was having with a shinobi who was perched outside his window. However, despite his best efforts he was now awake.

"Hey Sasuke. You awake?" Asked Naruto.

"Hmm" replied Sasuke sleepily.

"Good. Get ready Kakashi-sensei wants to see us in 15 minutes".

10 minutes later Sasuke and Naruto were making their way to Hokage tower. Naruto was excited because he knew they were about to assigned a mission together. Sasuke didn't mind going on a mission but he was surprised they summoned him for one so quickly, he didn't even have his own place yet, nor had he done much but sleep the last couple of days.

Inside the Hokage office they were greeted by a smiling Kakashi with a simple "yo".

"Please tell me you have a dangerous S rank mission for us Kakashi-sensei!" pleaded Naruto.

"Well it is S rank, but mostly due to the stealth involved. It's an infiltration mission." replied Kakashi.

"Also before I give you more details I just wanted to check in…Sasuke how are you doing? Are you okay to go on this mission?"

" Yeah I'm fine. I've been resting at Naruto's since I got back so it's probably a good thing for me to get out a bit."

"Ok good. In that case I'll tell you a bit about the mission. We need you to get information from a wealthy business man and his associates. His name is Lee. We received intelligence that they are extorting local residents in a village about a day and a half from here. Also we know that Lee has hired several talented shinobi from other villages. Hopefully, it wont come to a fight but it might and that's why I'm sending you two. Ideally we'd like you to get incriminating information on Lee so that he can be dealt with the authorities in a more legal manner. Any questions so far."

"Yeah, if it's a stealth mission then Naruto and I probably aren't the best for the job. I would understand if the purpose was assassination, but we don't exactly blend in." Sasuke pointed out.

"That's true." Replied Kakashi. "But you won't be going alone, I'm sending a Kunoichi with you and it will be her job to get the information from Lee. You two will ensure her safety and provide support wherever needed."

"So it's a seduction mission?" Naruto asked. He'd been the body guard of a female shinobi on a seduction mission once before, and he found it deeply unsettling. He understood the purpose of those types of missions, however he also felt that the kunoichi involved was always in harm's way.

"Yes it's a seduction mission. She should be here any minute."

Right on cue there was a soft knock on the door. Kakashi muttered "enter" and the door swung open.

Both Naruto and Sasuke stood completely still without saying a word as they saw their old teammate Sakura, walk into the office.

"Hi everyone! Did you already explain the mission Kakashi-sensei?"

Keenly aware of the awkward tension in the room Kakashi avoided eye contact with Naruto and Sasuke before replying, " Errr, yes I gave them the run down I'll finish explaining it now."

"The three of you are to make your way to Kokoro village, arrangements have been made so that the three of you have a room at the best hotel in town. Sakura will be posing as a high class society lady from a wealthy family, and you two will be posing as her body premise is that you are in town for the annual village festival which is actually more of a super fancy ball. We know that Lee is hosting the festival as his home, and there are events taking place during the entire 2 week period. You will attend them all. Sakura's mission is to get as close to Lee as possible without arousing suspicion. We also know that Lee has a soft spot for young women and so Sakura you'll use this weakness against him. Questions?"

Kakashi finally looked over at Naruto and Sasuke, both of whom were scowling at him.

 _Oh great here we go, they both look like they want to kill me right now._

Naruto took a deep breath before speaking. " There is no way in hell I'm going to let Sakura do this mission. Pick someone else."

Sakura looked over at Naruto, not the least bit surprised by his reaction but irritated non the less.

"Naruto what Kakashi-sensei has yet to mention is that Lee and his men are experts in poisons, which makes my expertise necessary."

"I don't want you doing this mission Sakura-chan!"

"It's not your choice to make Naruto!" Sakura shot back.

While Naruto and Sakura were arguing, Sasuke was contemplating the situation before him.

After the war he had left the village and it had been just over 2 years since then, he had alerted Konoha that he would be returning and had gotten the okay from Kakashi. However, he had asked that no one else be alerted and so Naruto and Sakura had been surprised by his arrival. So when he arrived 3 days ago he asked Kakashi to send for Naruto and Sakura. Both had been surprised to see him, but welcomed him straight away. Naruto was annoyingly excited and offered him a place to stay immediately. Sakura had been polite and it was she who suggested the 3 of them go get something to eat. He had to admit it felt good to be reunited with his teammates and he was looking forward to going on a mission with them, however he too shared Naruto's discomfort with Sakura being part of a seduction mission.

Finally Kakashi decided to put an end to the bickering. "Enough!" Naruto and Sakura fell silent at once.

" Naruto I know how you feel trust me. I hate having to assign Sakura this mission, but she is the most qualified for the job. And I trust you and Sasuke to protect her as much as you can. So please don't argue with me on this or I will replace you with Sai."

That shut Naruto up. As much as he hated this mission, he would feel better if he was there to protect Sakura, instead of back home worrying about it.

Resigned Naruto nodded and stayed quiet.

"Excellent. I would suggest you leave in no more than 2 hours. Naruto and Sasuke you are dismissed. Sakura and I need to go over a couple of things."

Naruto and Sasuke silently exited Kakashi's office but they didn't leave. Instead they sat on a bench in the hall and waited for Sakura.

"What do you think Kakashi-sensei has to talk to Sakura about?" asked Naruto.

"Probably going over procedure on her mission…" Sasuke hesitated but ultimately decided to elaborate. " From what I understand kunoichi's under go special traning for these kinds of missions, and I'm assuming Kakashi is making sure Sakura remembers it all and knows what to do in case she gets in trouble."

"Do you…do you think she's going to have to sleep with this Lee guy?" Naruto finally voiced the biggest concern he had.

Sasuke hesitated before answering. " I'm not sure. It's our job to protect Sakura so that she doesn't have to do anything more than what's necessary for the mission."

As Naruto was thinking about what Sasuke said Sakura stepped out of Kakashi's office.

"I thought you guys would've left by now." Sakura

 _They both look worried._ Thought Sakura.

"It'll be fine, lets all go home and pack and meet up in an hour."

"Sure that sounds fine to me." Replied Sasuke.

"Great see you guys in a bit." And with that Sakura was gone.

Sakura felt a little awkward at being on this mission with Naruto and Sasuke. For starters Naruto was like family to her and she knew he would be extremely over protective of her, which is probably why Kakashi assigned him the mission to begin with. Also things with Sasuke were…odd at the moment. Since his return they had spoken like normal, he seemed to be in a good place but they had yet to have a conversation alone and it kinda felt like he was avoiding her, or she was avoiding him or both.

 _I hope that this mission will help all of us get back on track and Sasuke can adapt to being a Konoha ninja again._

Sure enough an hour later the 3 of them met at the gates and after a quick greeting they left.

All of them left wondering how this mission would impact their teamwork, and Sasuke and Naruto were both determined to keep Sakura safe though for different reasons.

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 **Authors Note:  
**

I still feel like I'm working out all the writing kinks as its been years since I've submitted any fanfiction. lol Chapter 2 will be posted within a week. Let me know what you think. :)


	2. Yup it's a little awkward

**Authors Note:** I don't think I've posted a second chapter this quickly before. But here it is! This chapter mostly sets up the mission and is meant to lay the foundation for future chapters, so hopefully its not too boring but its necessary stuff. :) Let me know what you think.

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"We're only about an hour away from the village so I think we should stop here and get ready for the mission." Suggested Naruto.

"Fine". Replied Sakura and Sasuke at the same time.

The had left Konoha yesterday morning and had been travelling almost non-stop ever since. They were taking a leisurely pace though as they did not want to use up too much energy. So far their journey had been uneventful and they spent most of their time catching up. Sasuke filled his teammates in on some of his adventures over the past 2 and a half years and Sakura talked about the hospital program she and Ino started. Naruto was just happy to have both his original teammates back.

"We should all get changed now. We look too much like ninjas." Said Sakura as she dug through her back looking for a change of clothes.

Sasuke and Naruto followed her lead and they both turned around to give Sakura some privacy.

"Okay you guys can turn around now."

When they did Naruto excitedly complimented Sakura's choice of dress, "Wow Sakura-chan you look great!"

She was wearing an elegant silk kimono style dress, one that wealthy families would wear, yet it wasn't a formal outfit, it was the type of dress that was meant to showcase both elegance and beauty. Sakura also wore her hair up in a bun and had applied some light makeup.

Sasuke did not know what to say, but he knew that he was staring so he just nodded in a way that he hoped politely conveyed his agreement with Naruto.

"Thanks Naruto! Before we go though, Sasuke-kun I know you don't like using the artificial arm, but for this mission Kakashi-sensei thinks it'd be best if you blend in a much as possible, so…". Sakura looked over at Sasuke apprehensively, not entirely sure if he would let her attach the artificial arm.

But Sasuke didn't mind. Instead, he walked over to her and said "Do what you have to do."

"Ok, thank you. Just hold still."

It only took Sakura 10 minutes to fully attach the arm and Sasuke found that he didn't hate the artificial arm as much as he thought he would.

"Ok lets go! Team 7 finally on a mission again!" exclaimed Naruto excitedly.

"Baka, you'll give away our identities before we even begin." Reprimanded Sakura, but she was smiling.

The 3 of them made their way to the entrance of the village, Sakura in the middle, Naruto to her right and Sasuke on her left.

They had no issues getting into the village and they were immediately spotted by village security forces which pointed them in the direction of the hotel they would be staying at.

Sasuke checked them into the hotel while Naruto and Sakura looked around. They did not have to go very far before they spotted their target.

Lee was a handsome man of around 40,he was tall, well-built and had blue eyes and dark brown hair. He was currently sitting at a table with what they supposed were other hotel guests coming to the festival.

 _I guess the rumor that he's pretty hands on with festival preparations is true if he's out meeting guests._ Was Sakura's first thought.

Sasuke approached his teammates to tell them that their room was ready, when he looked up and saw Lee walking towards them.

 _Why is he coming up to us? Does he suspect something already?_

"Naruto, be ready." Sasuke whispered, and took his position on Sakura's other side.

" Welcome guests! I take it that you are here for the festival?" Lee asked as he joined them, he was looking directly at Sakura.

"Yes we are. Thank you, we look forward to all the festivities." Replied Sakura while bowing her head slightly.

Lee looked pleased.

"I'm Lee, the majority of the festival takes place at my house or one of my properties. May I ask who you are?"

"I'm Sakura, this is Naruto and that's Sasuke" said Sakura as she pointed to her teammates. "They are my attendants."

"Excellent! I hope you enjoy your stay and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow for the opening dinner."

"We wouldn't miss it Lee-san." Sakura once again replied while bowing her head. She had heard he likes extremely respectful women to the point where they are submissive, and so she was hoping she could catch his attention by being extra respectful.

Again, Lee smiled at Sakura, seemingly pleased at her demeanour. This time he reached down and gently patted Sakura on the shoulder. This was a outwardly innocent act but her Naruto and Sasuke knew better. She had caught his attention. Which is what they wanted but Naruto and Sasuke still felt uneasy about that entire encounter.

"What a creep!" Naruto exclaimed the moment they entered their hotel room.

"I mean seriously, he was super creepy. Right Sasuke?"

"Hn." Was Sasuke's only reply.

"Of course he's creepy Naruto. We already knew that he enjoys playing around with young women's feelings and bodies. I'm just glad it worked out and we managed to meet him before the festival starts. Hopefully I'll be able to get close to him faster."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged meaningful looks.

"Umm about that Sakura-chan...we've been meaning to ask you...uh I dunno how to say it exactly…"

"Spit it out Naruto!" Sakura looked a bit annoyed. She had a feeling she knew what they were thinking and it irritating her to know that after all this time they still doubted her abilities.

Naruto blushed and started mumbling while looking at the floor.

 _Ugh there's no way I can ask Sakura-chan about this, she'll kill me first of all also its just awkward._

Sasuke sympathized with Naruto, and so he decided to save him any further embarrassment.

"What Naruto is trying to say, is if you have a plan for how close you'll be getting to Lee. Or how to go about getting the information out of him?" Sasuke looked directly at Sakura while speaking, and while he did not let his expression change, he felt a little awkward too.

Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _That's what they're worried about?_

"Yes I have a plan. I'm going to do what I have to do to get the information. I'm hoping that I'll be able to do this by simply spending time with Lee. It will most certainly involve letting him touch me probably kiss me. But I'm confident it won't have to go beyond that."

Sakura said all this without a trace of embarrassment. Naruto was looking concerned and Sasuke was again trying to remain impassive. Inwardly though he was seething. He did not want that man touching and kissing Sakura in any way shape or form.

Sasuke was not an idiot, he had not expected anything to happen with him and Sakura when he got back to Konoha. Especially since, he had been gone for over 2 years. He remembered the look on her face when he left and he told her he would see her when he got back. He had a lot to atone for before he had a heart to heart with Sakura. Unfortunately, they hadn't had a chance to really talk since he got back, he was hoping to have some time to adjust to things before he had to deal with all of this. Unfortunately, this mission was making him face the weird tension that had followed him and Sakura since his return.

"Ok Naruto and I will support you anyway that we can. If you get into trouble, or need back up you need to call us right away. We know you're strong and can handle yourself but this mission requires a different kind of strength and so you might not be able to defend yourself properly at times."

"Yeah ok. I'll be fine though Sasuke-kun."

Again an awkward silence filled the room and for the first time since he returned Sasuke felt like being alone. He had not minded staying at Naruto's, even though he felt like he was intruding; it was still nice to be around old friends. Now he could sense how complicated this mission was going to get for him and he wanted nothing more than to not be part of it.

Not being able to handle awkward situation very well, Naruto said he would be back with dinner and suggested they start resting up for tomorrow.

After Naruto left Sakura and Sasuke looked around the room for the first time. There were 2 beds and 1 pull out couch. Sakura made her way to the bed closest to the window and Sasuke decided to take the couch and give Naruto the other bed.

After not saying anything for a while. Sakura finally decided to break the silence.

"So have you found your own place or will you be staying at Naruto's for a bit?"

" I haven't found a place yet but I can't stay with Naruto much longer, I mean him and Hinata are newlyweds so I don't want to intrude. But Kakashi was telling me about a couple of places I'm going to look into when we get back."

"Oh ok, you can always stay with me for a while if you want. I have an extra room that's fully furnished."

Sakura was trying to be nice to Sasuke and her intention was to offer an olive branch of sorts. Even though they were on good terms, she felt as though there was a lot he wasn't telling her.

"Oh, uh thanks for the offer. I'll consider it if I can't find a place right away." There's no way Sasuke was going to accept her offer. He wanted to start over with Sakura, Naruto and the village as a whole but he knew living with her would be a bad idea.

They lapsed into silence once more. Sakura was unpacking her clothes neatly while Sasuke sat on the couch and looked out the window. Neither knew what to say to each other now that they were alone.

 _Oh god this is so awkward_ thought Sakura _maybe it wasn't a good idea to include Sasuke on this mission. Naruto yes but Sasuke still isn't exactly mister talkative so I have no idea what he's thinking…_

Sasuke on the other hand was trying hard not to look at Sakura, he hated to admit that she looked very beautiful and he never thought of women in this way. Romance just never fit into his life before. He wasn't sure that there was a place for it even now. He also knew that Sakura probably still loved him and he didn't want to say or do anything that would hurt her more than he already had. So for now his strategy was to focus on the mission, take it one day at a time, and hope that Naruto hurried up so he didn't have to be alone with Sakura for much longer.

Right on cue Naruto walked back into the room with dinner for the 3 of them.

"Don't worry guys its not Ramen!"

"Also I found out something about Lee while I was out."

"Really?" asked Sakura and Sasuke surprised that Naruto did some work while he was out.

"Yup. Its both good news and bad news. Apparently, in addition to extorting residents 2 women have gone missing in the past 2 weeks. There are rumors that Lee and his men are behind this. That's the bad news. The good news is that according to a worker in the lobby Lee couldn't stop talking about Sakura-chan on his way out of the hotel earlier. I think you really made an impression on him!"

"Of course she did he'd have to be blind not to notice her." Sasuke said without thinking.

Sakura immediately blushed bright red and gave Naruto a confused look. Naruto simply shrugged and kept looking at Sasuke, expecting him to say something else.

"But anyways" Sasuke was desperate to change the topic "Good job on gathering intel Naruto, sounds like Lee is more trouble than we thought."

"Yeah good job Naruto." Sakura said smiling.

"Thanks… I guess we don't really have anything to do until tomorrow so should we finish eating and then call it a night?"

Sakura and Sasuke both agreed and they all quietly continued eating their dinner.

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 **A/N:** Thanks to anyone who reads this! I'm still trying to get back into fanfic writing mode so I feel rusty still, and honestly I'm more comfortable writing romance and lemon scenes ;P so trying to incorporate adventure and mission stuff is a challenge for me. Next chapter will be up within a week.


	3. Unsure

**Authors Note:** This chapter will focus a little more on Sasuke's thoughts. Also it's a bit difficult to write a story from the perspective of 3 different characters, but for the most part I'll continue to do it that way. This story will likely be 5 or 6 chapters long, its not going to be drawn out so this chapter is meant to speed things along a bit. Anything written in Italics are thoughts. As always please let me know what you think! on a side note who else read this weeks Naruto Gaiden update! Ahhh curse your Kishimoto cutting it off at such a crucial moment. :D

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Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura spent an uneventful day shopping and walking through the town, playing their roles as attendants and wealthy maiden. They had not gathered any further intel on Lee or any of his associates but at least they had gotten to know the town well, and one thing was quite obvious…

"Everyone in this town is way too damn nice! It's creepy!" was the first thing Naruto said when they arrived back in their hotel room.

"For once I agree with you." Sasuke said seriously.

"Same." Conceded Sakura. "But there's a good chance everyone is under Lee's control. I mean we knew that he was intimidating and extorting people in the village, so perhaps his influence runs deeper than that?"

Sasuke and Naruto both nodded in agreement.

"The best thing we can do now is follow the plan, go to dinner tonight and let Sakura do her job."

It didn't take long for Naruto and Sasuke to get ready for dinner at all, on the other hand they waited for Sakura to come out of the bathroom for almost 2 hours.

When Sakura emerged from the bathroom she was extremely self-conscious. She was used to wearing shinobi gear, but here she was wearing a form fitting long black cocktail dress, that if she was perfectly honest exposed way to much of her back and cleavage for comfort. Sakura knew the dress was not overly revealing, but for her it was new and wearing this outfit made her feel exposed. It didn't help that it was sleeveless, and she had her hair up and so the dip in the back was noticeable.

 _I hope I don't look completely ridiculous in this dress! Ugh I might as well be naked!_

Sakura was blushing as both Naruto and Sasuke stared at her. Naruto was the first to break the silence.

"You look great Sakura-chan! You can definitely get information out of Lee!"

"Thanks Naruto." Sakura was relieved that at least she didn't look ridiculous.

Sasuke on the other hand didn't know how to react. He had long admitted to himself that Sakura possessed several traits he found attractive, both in physical beauty and in strength, however he was not prepared for the slew of emotions that hit him as he looked at her now.

Firstly, he was concerned, he had fully intended on being professional on this mission and not interfering with Sakura's part in it but now…

 _Dammit! She looks good, no better than good. There's no way that creep Lee won't make a move on her. It's one thing to use kuniochi tactics to extract information, usually they are able to do so without getting into trouble, but I have a feeling Lee will expect more._

Additionally Sasuke was conflicted, on the one hand he knew he had no right to ask anything of Sakura but he really wanted to ask her to not do this mission, and that instead they could always get the information by force.

On the other hand, Sasuke knew that Sakura was a proud woman and would probably find it insulting to her skills as a shinobi if he suggested they change tactics. He was being selfish, and he knew it.

 _I told myself I would be nothing but supportive on this mission, I owe both Naruto and Sakura more than that but for now this is all I can do._

So instead of voicing his concerns, in the most casual tone he could muster turned to Sakura and said, "Yeah I agree with Naruto. Shall we head over to the dinner now?"

Relieved Sakura began to gather her small purse and soon the 3 of them were on their way to the home of their target.

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Lee's home was a mixture of traditional and modern, and it was most definitely extravagant. There was little security that they could see, and no one even asked them for an invitation. Apparently, even though it was a fancy affair Lee kept the doors open for any of the village residents to attend the festival related activities.

Almost immediately after arriving they were greeted by Lee himself.

"Sakura! How good to see you again so soon. " he called her name so casually that it unnerved both Naruto and Sasuke but they hid it well.

"Lee-san! Thank you for having us, you have a beautiful home." Sakura replied smiling.

He was standing in front of Sakura now, and he quickly gave Naruto and Sasuke polite nods.

"Dinner is starting soon, normally we don't have arranged seating as we encourage people to get to know each other and sit wherever they please. But for tonight how about you and your companions join me at my table?"

"Why thank you, we would love to." Sakura began to walk towards the table Lee had motioned to, Sasuke and Naruto followed behind her.

Sakura was seated beside Lee and Naruto and Sasuke are sitting opposite them. Lee immediately engages Sakura in conversation, mostly about mundane things such as business but her teammates could tell that she was piling on the charm. Sakura was doing a good job of pretending to be interested in whatever Lee was saying.

Dinner was a boring for Naruto and Sasuke as they did not have much to do. By the end of it they both couldn't wait to get back to their hotel room to sleep. Sakura and Lee on the other hand had not stopped talking, and Lee was now getting up from the table and motioning Sakura to follow him.

Sasuke and Naruto gave Sakura matching confused looks.

"I'll be right there Lee-san, I just need a quick word with my companions."

"Sure, no problem."

Lee quietly stepped aside and exited the dinner area.

"Sakura-chan what…" started Naruto.

"Listen up guys, Lee's been surprisingly forthcoming and I want to keep the momentum going. He's already told me a few things that I'm sure he considers insignificant but that to us are important details. So here take this and I'll see you later."

Sakura handed Naruto a small scroll, which he assumed contained the information she had acquired from Lee so far.

"Okay, but where are you going with him now?" asked Naruto.

"He asked me to join him for a walk in the garden."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, a walk in the garden was fine they could always wait for her here, but he had a feeling Sakura was not telling them everything as she averted her eyes when speaking.

"Sakura…where do you want us to wait for you?" Sasuke asked.

"Umm actually, Lee also suggested that I stay here tonight…since it's getting late already." Sakura couldn't look them in the eye at all anymore, and she was blushing. She had no interest in Lee romantically obviously, and she was not intending on sleeping with him or anything like that, but she knew Naruto and Sasuke still wouldn't like the idea of her being so close to their target.

 _She can't seriously be thinking of staying here with this guy? Especially not without Naruto and me._

"No way!" Exclaimed Naruto.

"Naruto…"

"Sakura-chan we are not leaving you alone!"

"I'm not asking you to! For now yes please leave or it could make him suspicious. Wait a little while at the hotel, then break into the grounds, and run surveillance from outside. You're both amazing shinobi, keeping track of my chakra signature will be easy for you."

This was true, there was hardly any security and there were no other ninja in the area that they could detect. This was a mission that required stealth not power, it would not be difficult to do what Sakura suggested.

"Ok fine. But Sakura be careful, also if he tries to do anything do your best to stall him until me and Naruto get here. We'll send you a signal once we arrive."

"Okay, thank you. I'll be fine."

With that Sakura left the table and went to meet with Lee. Naruto and Sasuke quickly left Lee's house and made their way to the hotel.

They were both silent as they walked towards their room, Sasuke lost in thought and trying to make sense of his growing concern.

 _This is all happening so quickly, I thought for sure it would take days possibly a week just to build enough of a rapport with Lee so Sakura could be alone with him. I hate not being in control, this would all be so much easier if we just took Lee by force, that way Sakura wouldn't be in danger either._

"Sasuke…"

"Hmm?" Naruto broke him out of his thoughts, and when Sasuke looked up, he realized they were already in their hotel room.

"Yeah?"

"Listen I wanted to ask you something, and don't get mad but I'm just wondering what's going on."

"Sure Naruto go ahead."

"I know you were only back home for a few days before we were assigned this mission, but before we left I asked Sakura-chan if you guys had had a talk yet. You know like a 1 on 1 conversation, she said you hadn't, and that there was no need to…" Naruto looked at Sasuke nervously; he knew this was likely a touchy subject with him but Sasuke did not look angry so he continued.

" Look it's so none of my business, but I know how difficult the last 2 and a half years with you gone have been for Sakura-chan. She tries to hide it, she buries herself in missions, and work but anyone can see that she's lonely. Now that you're back I thought you guys would work things out or you know at least figure out where you stand with each other. It's obvious you two are being way too polite to each other, almost like you're afraid to discuss anything of real importance. Are you planning on talking to her, or do you even want to?"

 _So even this baka Naruto has noticed something's off._

"Mine and Sakura's relationship is different from the one you and I have…"

"Yeah no shit" said Naruto with a grin.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I didn't mean it like that dumbass. I just meant…you and I can hate each other, be angry at each other and then somehow fix it by battling it out. That's what happened last time. I've apologized to you, but I don't feel the need to apologize over and over again because I know you know I'm sorry…that last fight we had relayed more of my emotions than any other battle has. But with Sakura…it's complicated. She has every reason to hate me, but I know she doesn't, I've never understood what she sees in me, and I'm afraid I can't return her feelings."

Naruto was silent for a moment as he processed what Sasuke just said. He expected him to get angry at him for prying, he did not expect him to be so forthcoming.

"So you can't return her feelings because you don't feel the same way and you don't want to tell her again, or you could see yourself with her but are afraid of where that will lead cause you don't feel you deserve her? Which is it?"

"It's not like I don't feel anything for Sakura. During my time away, I realized that since my clan was killed, I've never felt at home anywhere. For a while, team 7 was like my family and Konoha started feeling like home again, but that didn't last. I don't know if it'll work this time either. I don't want to hurt Sakura any more than I already have, being with me would be difficult, and it would bring her down."

"Hmm... you're an idiot Sasuke."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at Naruto's response.

"What I mean is…I get what you're saying I really do, and if I'm perfectly honest I'm not sure that you're the best guy for Sakura-chan. She deserves someone who will cherish her and make her a priority, and let's face it you aren't exactly known for being emotionally available…"

"I hope you have a point Naruto." Interrupted Sasuke.

"I'm getting there, just let me say everything first. Sakura is very important to me; she's part of my family so I want to make sure she's happy."

Sasuke knew Naruto's words were sincere, and so he was trying to be patient but he had the distinct feeling he was about to get the whole "if you hurt her" speech. He had been expecting this, Kakashi hinted at something the moment he arrived at the village.

"As I was saying, you're an idiot because despite all of the reasons why you might not be good for Sakura-chan, the truth is she still wants you. She's not stupid, she understands that you're probably still suffering and you come with some baggage but if you even remotely feel the same way about Sakura-chan as she does for you, I think you should put all that aside and at least give it a chance."

Naruto and Sasuke stayed in silence for a minute while Sasuke processed what Naruto just said to him. He knew he had a point, and if he was honest with himself during his time away his thoughts often drifted to Sakura. He'd always cared about her in his own way and being cruel to her was the only way he knew how to push her away. Now that he didn't have that option, the prospect of getting to know Sakura as they were now, terrified him.

"When the mission's over I'll talk to Sakura, it's been a long overdue conversation anyway. Also she might punch me but I don't care, because if I'm going to be living in Konoha again then I need to clear the air with her."

"Good! Now shall we get ready to go back to Lee's place shinobi style?"

"Yeah lets go."

* * *

 **Authors Note:** I tried to make Sasuke more forthcoming than usual but still slightly vague. I know a lot of people dislike Sakura for still being in love with Sasuke despite everything he's put her through, but I think Kishimoto gives a lot of evidence for why Sasuke acts the way he does. To me its obvious that he doesn't see his own worth as a man or human being, he just sees himself as someone who is important so long as he is powerful for most most of the manga anyways. I hope you guys like this chapter, if you do please consider leaving me a review. Thanks for reading! :)


	4. Lee's plan

**Authors Note:** Like I said before I never intended this story to be a long one, and so while I could extend the story by quite a bit by complicating the mission etc… I'm not going to do that. Hopefully everyone understand why I decided to make it short and sweet. There's still 1 more chapter after this and yes it will be M rated. Please review! :D

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke began running back to Lee's mansion, it was dark out and no one appeared to be insight but they still decided to take the long way there to make sure they weren't being followed. On their way, Naruto opened the scroll Sakura left them, quickly read it and then passed it over the Sasuke.

After Sasuke read it he didn't know what to think, " It's obvious Lee already gave Sakura a lot of information, I mean a lot of it seems random, like how he talks about his business partners and enjoying being involved with a wide range of businesses in the town, but he even gave her the names of his business partners. Yet in the documents Kakashi gave us, it said that information was confidential and unknown…."

"Yeah" replied Naruto, "I thought it was weird too. Did you get to the part where he actually admitted to owning half the town. He obviously said it in the context of trying to impress Sakura-chan, or at least that's how she interpreted it but I wonder if he was serious. If so why would he say that to her? Does he want to incriminate himself?"

Sasuke's eyes widened after Naruto's last comment. He had a feeling he knew what was going on now, and why Lee was being so open with Sakura without her so much as batting an eyelash.

"Naruto…what if Lee knows we're shinobi? What if he somehow already knows that Sakura is a kuniochi meant to gather information and trap him?"

"H-how would he know though?"

" Maybe he has ninja working for him and they used some kind of jutsu to spy on us?"

"But we would know if we were being spied on Sasuke. It's not like we're genin anymore, all 3 of us have been on the lookout for other ninjas and we agreed we couldn't feel the presence of any."

Sasuke agreed with Naruto...they had been on the lookout but this whole situation still didn't feel right.

"What if Lee's plan was to lead us into a false sense of security. We've all met ninja who are especially skilled at concealing their chakras, or he could have made his ninja leave the village temporarily in order to throw us off. And if I'm perfectly honest I haven't been looking out for other ninja as much as if we were in a well-known ninja village, or if we had known other shinobi were involved. Have you been super diligent?"

Naruto thought about that for a moment… _shit._ Right off the top of his head he could think of at least 6 times since they got here where he was sure the 3 of them were not being as careful as they should have been.

"If that's the case then…"

"Sakura's in trouble." Finished Sasuke.

* * *

Back at Lee's mansion Sakura was nervously pacing around an elaborate sitting room. _Calm down Sakura, panicking isn't going to get you anywhere and besides Sasuke-kun and Naruto should be on their way by now._

Soon after her teammates had left Lee and brought her into this room for tea, and told her to wait a minute while, he went to see what was taking the tea so long. He had not been back since. Growing uneasy, Sakura decided to go looking for him but found herself locked inside the room. What was more unsettling is that she tried every shinobi method she could think of (besides tearing the whole house down) to open the door or windows and was still unable to get out.

She knew something was wrong. The only thing that could trap her inside the room like this was jutsu, yet she couldn't sense the presence of any shinobi.

After what seemed like an eternity, she heard someone at the door and Lee stepped in.

He smiled widely at her, and silently moved past her and sat down on 1 of the many comfortable looking chairs.

After a moment he finally spoke.

"Well well, Sakura of the Hidden Leaf Village, renowned apprentice of the fifth Hokage and expert medic-nin…is that correct?"

Sakura wasn't surprised he knew who she was, ever since she was locked in here she had a feeling it had all been a trap. She was just hoping she was wrong.

"You're probably wondering how I knew? I knew the second the three of you walked into the village."

That did surprise Sakura. Sasuke and Naruto were both expert's at concealing their chakras and they had done an excellent job of hiding theirs, it would take an amazing shinobi to detect them so quickly.

Now Sakura knew she was in trouble. She would be able to take on Lee by himself but the house was swarming with his men, and now she knew there had to be strong shinobi among them.

 _I have to stall, until Naruto and Sasuke-kun get here._

"So, what's your plan now? Obviously you are aware that our village knows we're here and if we don't report back at the designated time they will send another team for us."

"Yes I know. Believe me I don't intend on starting a war with Konoha. All I want is to live in peace."

"As a criminal you mean!"

"You would see it that way, but I help the village by creating jobs and opportunities. Now in terms of what will happen to the three of you…I have a shinobi who works for me who is quite adept at altering memories. Once your little friends get here, I'll have him erase your memories of this mission and then we will send you back to Konoha as if nothing ever happened."

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Do you honestly think Konoha wouldn't suspect something was wrong the moment we returned without any information on you?"

"I have no doubt they will be suspicious. Which is why I am relocating my entire operation to another village far from here."

"You're underestimating us and Konoha!"

Sakura was sure that Sasuke could resist whatever jutsu this was; he alone had genjutsu powerful enough to counter other mind control and memory alteration jutsus. Sakura herself had undergone extensive psychological training that made her extremely capable of warding off these types of techniques as well. She was worried about Naruto. He still had trouble dispelling even the most basic genjutsu techniques and his senses were only sharp when he was in his sage mode.

"Before your teammates get here, you're going to give me something."

 _Does he honestly think he can get any information out of me? Ha!_

Sakura crossed her arms and stared at him angrily.

Lee laughed.

"Earlier tonight you were prepared to flirt your way into getting as much information out of me as possible! Now it's time to return the favor."

Lee got up from his chair and walked over to where Sakura was standing. He grabbed her by the shoulders and quickly picked her up and tossed her onto the couch.

Sakura had meant to punch him hard the moment he touched her but for some reason she couldn't.

 _Did he drug me somehow? Shit._

I know you're stronger than me Sakura. I'm not even a ninja so I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty to give a little something earlier tonight with your dinner. It won't cause any lasting damage and it won't even immobilize you, but it will make it impossible for you to mold chakra for up to 12 hours.

 _I'm an idiot. Here I am supposed to be the expert on poisons and drugs and I walked right into his trap._

Sakura hated feeling helpless more than anything else, but she knew she was at Lee's mercy. At this point, her only hope is that Sasuke and Naruto get here soon.

Lee then bent down and forcefully kissed her. Sakura struggled against him and tried to punch him, but without her chakra Lee was stronger than her.

"Don't struggle Sakura. This will be much easier if you just let it happen."

"Go to hell!"

"Hahaha, fiery as always I see."

Once again, he pinned her down and kissed her on the mouth. His lips than began travelling further and made it in between her breasts. In that moment as Sakura was trying to figure out what to do, the window smashed open and Naruto and Sasuke burst in.

Sasuke quickly took in the scene before him. He was livid. From the window, he and Naruto could see Lee forcefully kissing Sakura, and when he began to kiss her further down all reason got thrown out the window and Sasuke broke through the window without a plan.

"Let go of Sakura-chan you disgusting pervert!" Yelled Naruto.

"You two are right on time."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged quick confused looks. However, before they could react, Lee had already gotten up.

"Come in Jiro."

A tall and lean young man who could not have been older than 20 walked into the room.

"Lee-sama, are we ready to begin?"

"Yes. Please take their memories. Not all of them just the ones of the few days since they were assigned their mission."

"Whaa?" was Naruto's reaction.

Sasuke who had keen senses, quickly gathered that taking their memories must be Lee's way of covering his tracks.

"Start with the blond one."

Jiro began walking towards Naruto, who was still looking puzzled.

 _This is bad, he might actually be able to erase that idiots memories._

Sasuke quickly got in front of Naruto as Jiro activated his jutsu, and activated his Sharingan.

From what he could see Jiro's technique was legitimate and was a form of mind control. Probably usually used in interrogations. However, Naruto however was highly susceptible to psychological techniques such as mind control, and it is likely he would have trouble fighting of the jutsu.

Sasuke on the other hand saw right through it.

He quickly countered with his Sharingan and nullified Jiro's technique.

"But…how did you dispel my jutsu so quickly?"

"Easy… it's a weak technique." Replied Sasuke coolly.

"I'm sure it's very effective against regular civilians and even low level shinobi such as genin and some chunin, such as the ones that patrol this area. Which is why you have been moving around undetected I presume? But there's no way something like that would work against me."

"Even if we can't erase your memories, you're forgetting that so far we managed to outsmart your detection abilities, we also captured Sakura, drugged her and cut her off from her chakra!" Smirked Lee.

"True, but that was due to our own carelessness not your brilliance."

Before Lee or Jiro could react, 4 Konoha Anbu suddenly appeared.

"We have 3 other Anbu teams currently taking care of other shinobi in the house and village. What should we do with them?" The Anbu captain addressed the question to Naruto.

"Take them back to the village. They can be properly interrogated there. Make sure to block off that guys chakra to prevent him from using his mind jutsu thing."

"Sure thing."

With that, the Anbu quickly took Lee and Jiro and disappeared once more.

Now only Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto were left.

Sasuke sat down beside Sakura who was still on couch. "Are you okay?"

"Uh yeah. Just confused. Why is Anbu here?"

"We figured out it was a trap and so we asked for immediate back up." Replied Sasuke.

"I think we should go back to the hotel. It's late, we should stay there tonight and go home in the morning." Suggested Naruto.

The three of them silently walked back to the hotel. None of them were in a rush to get there, it had been an eventful evening and it was hard to tell if their mission had been a success or not. Technically, they had evidence that incriminated Lee and his accomplices, but they didn't exactly do it in a stealthy manner.

No sooner had they arrived at their hotel room, when Naruto announced he was going for a walk. Sakura sat down on her bed and Sasuke sat on the couch, neither saying a word.

Sasuke suspected Naruto wanted to give him some time with Sakura but he did not think this was the best moment for a heart to heart.

"Are you sure you're okay Sakura?"

"Yes Sasuke-kun, I'm fine. Just tired, I still can't mold chakra and that makes me feel vulnerable, but I'll be back to normal by morning."

Sasuke wanted to let her rest. But the image of that creep Lee pinning her down was at the forefront of his mind and it unnerved him.

"Sakura, did Lee do anything else to hurt you?"

"No."

"Good." Sasuke hesitated before continuing. "Listen I know things have been a little weird since I got back to the village. And you're probably wondering why I was gone for so long without visiting or writing. But I needed time to figure myself out."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"No. I don't think I was ever missing anything, I was just never sure how to accept other people's love and friendship and so I questioned everybody's intentions."

"I see. So are you moving to the village permanently?"

"I plan to yes."

"Okay, so we'll see you around then at least."

Sakura wasn't looking at him, and Sasuke could tell that the nights events had already gotten to her emotionally and that this conversation would likely push her over the edge. He didn't want to cause her anymore pain.

"Sakura, I owe you so much more than I can even express… I'm not good with words or with apologies but I'd like to make amends. Would you be willing to have dinner with me tomorrow? So we can talk things out once we're both well rested?"

To say Sakura was surprised would be an understatement. Sasuke looked sincere and even humble. Of course she would hear him out, she just wasn't sure how the conversation would go. However, it was necessary for them to clear the air if they hoped to go on anymore missions together.

"Sure Sasuke. How about you come over to my place and I'll cook you dinner?"

"Okay sounds good. I'll be there at 6. For now how about we get some sleep?"

"Okay, just let me go shower then I'll go to bed. Can you stay awake until I'm done?"

"Of course, I'll keep a look out."

Sasuke smiled gently as he watched Sakura enter the bathroom. He knew she was still shaken up by tonight's events and he wanted to assure her that she was safe, even if that mean holding off on sleep for a while.

He was a little worried about having dinner with Sakura. He knew there was bound to be some tears, she might even yell at him for being a jerk. Either way he owed her an explanation for once, and he was determined not to run away from this.

* * *

 **A/N:** Almost done! As I said, there will be 1 more chapter to this story. So I will be changing the stories rating to M when I update it next. :D I'm aiming to update it within the next week (fingers crossed). Please review and let me know your thoughts, as they are super encouraging to read. Thanks for reading. :)


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